Good Samaritan Agency

The purpose of the Good Samaritan Agency is to help individuals who have special needs concerning pregnancy and parenting to gain the services and support they need to improve the quality of their lives.

The Good Samaritan Agency Bangor Maine - Adoption Services

Good Samaritan Agency is the oldest agency in Maine licensed to place children. The agency, established in 1902, is private, non-profit and non-sectarian.

At Good Samaritan Agency, we believe that every child needs and deserves the security of a permanent, loving family. We further believe there are many individuals and couples who want to build families by responding to the needs of children who do not have stable homes. Since 1909, we’ve been matching the needs of children and families through adoption.

At Good Samaritan Agency, we provide a full service in-state domestic adoption program. We also work with out-of-state agencies to assist in the placement of children with Maine families. For families seeking to adopt internationally, Good Samaritan Agency, may be able to complete your homestudy and post-placement services. Good Samaritan Agency can also complete private homestudies for families working privately towards an adoption.

In-state Domestic AdoptionGood Samaritan Agency works with Maine families seeking to adopt a newborn within the State of Maine. In this situation, our agency is working directly with birth parents in Maine who are planning an adoption for their baby and our agency places the baby with an adoptive family who has been approved by Good Samaritan Agency. The majority of placements in this program are Caucasian infants.

Out-of-State Domestic AdoptionGood Samaritan Agency also works with adoptive families seeking a child from an out of state licensed adoption agency. In these situations, Good Samaritan Agency usually completes the homestudy and post-placement supervision services, while the services to the birth parents and the placement of the child are handled by the out of state adoption agency. Good Samaritan Agency works closely with the placing agency to meet all requirements for an interstate placement (including ICPC regulations). The majority of placements in this program are infants of minority races who are in the custody of the out of state adoption agencies.

International AdoptionGood Samaritan Agency is not an international placing agency, but may still be able to provide some of the services necessary for Maine families to adopt internationally. For non-Hague countries, we can provide homestudy and post-placement services. We would work with your international placing agency to ensure fulfillment of all homestudy requirements for the specific country you are seeking to adopt from. For Hague countries, Good Samaritan Agency is not Hague accredited, but we have entered into some supervised provider agreements with Hague accredited international placing agencies, which allows us to provide homestudy and post-placement services. If you have questions about your specific adoption, please contact the agency to further discuss this.

FAQ-Frequently Asked Questions

What are the requirements to adopt a child through your agency?The minimum requirements for becoming an adoptive parent through Good Samaritan Agency are:

You must reside in the State of Maine

You must be at least 21 years of age

You must have been in your current living status for at least two years (married, single, cohabitant, divorced or widowed)

There cannot be more than 45 years age difference between the adoptive parent and the child they are seeking to adopt (In the case of a married couple, this applies to the younger spouse)

How much does it cost to adopt?This is one of the most frequently asked questions, but it does not have an easy answer. The cost of adoption varies widely depending on the type of adoption you are planning.Some expenses, such a foster care expenses and birthparent expenses, are difficult to predict, as each and every adoption is different. In-state adoptions through our agency tend to be less expensive because our agency is the only agency involved in the process. Out of State placements require adoptive families to pay fees to the in-state agency doing the homestudy and post-placement services and the out of state agency responsible for the actual placement of a child in the home. Please contact an adoption caseworker at the agency to further discuss adoption related fees.What is the process for adoption?Good Samaritan Agency begins the process with individual adoption informational sessions. This gives your family a chance to sit down with an adoption caseworker and discuss the process and ask questions. Adoption informationals are scheduled on an individual basis. Once a family has decided to work with Good Samaritan Agency, they must then submit a formal adoption application packet. As part of the application packet, adoptive applicants are required to write autobiographies, complete medical examinations, provide references, financial documentation, and releases for the agency to conduct background checks on all adults living in the household. Once your application packet has been processed and all background checks have cleared, you will be assigned to an adoption caseworker. The caseworker will begin the homestudy with your family. The homestudy is an in-depth evaluation of your life experiences, problem solving abilities and motivation for adoption. The homestudy uses information gathered in the application as well as a series of interviews, both individually and jointly, and a home visit. All homestudies are reviewed in a peer review session by all casework staff before approval is granted. Once the homestudy is approved, you are now an approved adoptive family, waiting for a placement. After a child is placed in your home for the purpose of adoption, your caseworker will continue to monitor your adjustment by meeting with your family as required and completing the post-placement supervision reports. This supervision period is defined by law and is typically 6 months in length. After the required supervision period, families can legalize the adoption through the Probate Court system. Good Samaritan Agency will assist your family with the legalization process.

What are the wait times for placement?Again, this is a difficult question to answer, as there are many factors that impact the wait times for placement. If you are seeking an in-state adoption, we are estimating wait times to be approximately 3-5 years. If you are seeking an out of state placement, the placing agency may be able to give you a better estimate of wait time, but are typically much shorter than the in-state waits. Another factor that affects wait times is that often times it is the birthparents who are making the selection of an adoptive family for their child. If the birthparents do not wish to be involved in the selection process, Good Samaritan Agency will place with the family that has been waiting the longest.